


Striped Carnations

by KuraKira



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Hanahaki Disease, I changed the names in the one I submitted, I wrote this an entry for a writing contest at my school, Light Angst, but this is the official version, tbh I don't even think I would consider this angst because I could have done a lot worse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 09:46:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9715949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuraKira/pseuds/KuraKira
Summary: Yui was in her second year of high school that she learned what the Hanahaki Disease is, it wasn’t until Yui was in her first year of college that she fully understood the Hanahaki Disease





	

**Author's Note:**

> The work was beta'd by my younger sister (lmaoKings on A03 and snow-kiing on Tumblr) she also helped fix up things like grammar and unclear sentences
> 
> I'll stop writing so much about Michimiya now, I want to write for the March or April prompts for YamaYachi
> 
> EDIT: This won the contest. This piece of shit won the contest. This is an esteem booster man
> 
> Edit #2: It's getting published in my school's Literary Magazine. The entire school is going to read this. Kill me

_“In the midnight light of yesterday I suddenly realized_

_Picking up the fallen petals was just so meaningless._

_Why did I never understand?_

_They can only wither and turn gray in my hand._

_My world lost all its color and stopped turning long ago.”_

_\- Just be Friends (Produced by Dixie Flatline, English lyrics by AmaLee)_

 

It wasn’t until Yui was in her second year of high school that she learned what the Hanahaki Disease is. She was looking through some books in the library, most for fun or for a project in Biology when she stumbled upon a brown leather book entitled _Odd and Unusual Diseases._

Yui does not classify herself as a curious person, sure sometimes she finds something interesting and wants to know more, but she doesn’t push herself to know more than what is provided or needed. So when she slid the book from it’s encasing of its neighbors, the brunette didn’t expect herself to get to caught up in the contents of the book.

The book itself wasn’t anything special, it had no summary on the back or inside, the only indication of its contents was the title written in gold lettering on the front and side. The pages had turned a shade of pale yellow with age, but the ink remained a vibrant black. The table of contents had listed several things, but it was Disese 14 that had Yui stumbled upon.

_“The Hanahaki Disease is an unusual one, it seems when someone experiences a one-sided love, flowers grow inside their lungs. Striped and Yellow Carnations and Yellow Tulips are more common than any other of flower. I did a bit of research and found out that striped carnations symbolize rejection while the yellow ones means ‘you have disappointed me’ (or rejection like it’s striped counterpart) and yellow tulips can mean a hopeless love. Roses aren’t that common, but are more deadly as they come thorned. The patient coughs or throws up the flowers until cured. The amount of petals that are released are random, but the plants do not_

_seem to affect the lungs or restrict breathing unless the petals are being coughed up._

_The only possible cures for this is if the beloved of those cursed with the disease loves them back, or by surgery. If the plants have been surgically removed, all emotions that the patient had felt will be gone. It seems most would rather die than have the plant surgically removed._

_Notable people with this or had this disease are...”_ Yui had stopped reading the passage at this point. A disease formed by one-sided love? It sounds very, odd and terrifying. The idea of throwing up flower petals whenever you think about your crush sounds terrifying. Yui never had good luck with crushes, nor confessing, so this downright horrified her.

Closing the book and sliding it back with its neighbors, Yui picked up her already selected books from the floor, ready to escape the dark corner of the public library and get started on her Biology assignment.

* * *

 

When Yui returned home, she took off her shoes and placed her jacket on the coat rack.

“I’m home.” Yui said, putting on her house slippers. Her mother popped her head from the kitchen entry way and smiled.

“Place your books in your room and then come down, dinner’s almost ready.” Yui nodded at her mother and shifted the books so half of them were under her arm and the other three sat close to her chest. Not the best way to hold books, but she had no other option. When she made the final step to the second floor, the brunette put her books down next to the stairs. Opening the bedroom door right next to the top of the steps, Yui stepped inside and looked at her desk. She walked over and cleared some space before stepping back out and grabbing the books, setting them down with the clutter of papers and sticky notes. The smell of dinner made her mouth water, and she quickly made her way down the stairs to the dinner table.

Yui sat down right as her mother had began placing bowls and chopsticks on the table.

“How was school sweetheart?” Yui’s mother asked as she placed a bowl of white rice in front of her daughter. Yui’s father picked up his chopsticks and slowly began eating.

“It was fun, Sugawara and I narrowed down what we’re going to work on for the project.”

“What are you going to do?” Her mother had asked. Yui explained that her project will be over osmosis. She and Koushi will be making a model of a membrane and several little molecules to pass through it inside of a plastic Christmas ornament.

“Sugawara-kun’s coming over after dinner correct?” Yui’s father asked and the girl nodded.

“He’s coming around six and his mom is picking him up at 8:30.” Yui’s father smiled. Dinner carried on casually, Yui’s parents talked about their day at work. Her father is hoping to get a promotion soon, he’ll be the CEO of a large company if he gets the job. Her mother has to work overtime at the flower shop she works at for the next week.

It was around six when Yui had finished eating. She was in her room, sorting the books and papers on her desk when the doorbell rang. She could hear her mother shout that she was answering the door.

Downstairs, Koushi was in the doorway of the Michimiya residence, being a precious little bean.

“You must be Sugawara, come on in dear. Yui is upstairs in her room. First door on the left.”

“Thank you Ma’am.” Yui’s mother smiled and walked back into the kitchen. Koushi took off his shoes and put on the guest house slippers. His backpack was heavy with all the needed materials for the project: The empty Christmas ornament, a bag of medium and small beads, and a precut piece of plastic for the membrane. He even brought a small exacto knife to cut open the plastic bulb. Koushi made his way to the staircase and carefully walked up the steps. It was his first time at Yui’s house and he was nervous about embarrassing himself.

When Koushi reached Yui’s room, he gave a small knock on the door. He could hear Yui scramble about her room, it sounds like a few things fell over. Koushi sighed as Yui continued to struggle to get to the door.

 _“Daichi was right, Michimiya really is clumsy.”_ The silver haired boy thought as the door busted open. Luckily the door opened from the inside and not the outside or else Koushi would have been tumbling down the stairs.

“Sugawara-san! It’s nice to see you!” Yui exclaimed. She was short on breath and her pixie cut hair was frizzled. Koushi smiled and shook his head.

“It’s nice to see you too Michimiya-san. May I come in?” Yui nodded furiously, moving out of the way to allow her classmate in her room. Yui’s room was typical for a high school girl, a few K- and J-Pop posters were littered around the room, most stationed around her desk. A few Volleyball posters were by her bed and a white cloth hamper stored her dirty clothes. On her closet door hung a #6 black and white Volleyball uniform. A full body mirror stood next to the closet.

“Cozy room you have here Michimiya-san.” Koushi looked at the cluttered desk and sighed internally. The brunette smiled nervously and rushed over to her desk. She stacked the loose leaf paper, not caring that she’s mixing at least three subjects. She placed the somewhat organized stacks on the top shelf of the desk, where they would probably remain for the rest of the week. The desk looked somewhat cleaner, save for the textbooks and jewelry box.

“Go ahead and set your bag on my bed while I get another chair.” Koushi nodded and slipped off his bag, placing the heavy object on the white spotted comforter. He unzipped the bag and grabbed the supplies needed for the project. Koushi was careful not to cut anything with the exacto knife as he took it out of its protective wooden case. The plastic bulb almost rolled off the bed before he caught it. The tiny and large beads were held inside a plastic baggie. All the needed supplies where here, along with a few snacks like Pocky and some drinks.

Yui walked back into the room with a foldable chair in her arms.

“We only had foldable chairs, so I’m sorry if your back hurts after this.” Yui unfolded the chair and set it next to her desk chair. Koushi grabbed the supplies from Yui’s bed and placed them on her desk.

“I’ll be handling the exacto knife.” Yui raised an eyebrow at Koushi “Setter’s have steady hands.” The brunette nodded and sat down in her chair. Koushi sat in the metal chair and scooted it forward. The silver haired boy grabbed the bulb and knife and carefully cut it along the glued edges until he reached the middle of the bottom and redid his steps on the other side. Soon, the once whole plastic bulb was only being held together by the metal clasp at the top and the remaining glue under it.

“Sugawara-san,” Yui asked as the boy struggled to remove the metal clasp. Koushi’s brown eyes met Yui’s for a second before focusing back on the bulb. He hoped that the girl would ask to remove the metal clasp for him but she asked a different question. “Do you know what the Hanahaki Disease is?” Koushi looked back up at Yui. Her lively brown eyes had a mix of curiosity and wonder at the question. The setter focused his attention outside the window, looking at the oak tree in the front yard. He had never heard of the Hanahaki Disease before Yui had brought it up. The boy shook his head and turned his focus back to the bulb.

“I’m sorry Michimiya-san, I don’t know.” With a twist of his wrist, the metal clasp came off the Christmas bulb. “AHA!”

For the first time all day, Yui gave a sigh with a smile.

* * *

 

It wasn’t until Yui was in her first year of college that she fully understood what the Hanahaki Disease was.

Like many girls her age, she had fallen for the boyish -and quite childish- charms of Oikawa Tooru. His soft brown hair, warm brown eyes and handsome face made it easy for Yui to fall head-over-heals for the ace setter. It also didn’t help that Yui had the same Literature Class as Tooru.

“Michi-chan.” Yui was currently in the university’s library looking over a few books about child care (she is studying to become a grade school teacher after all) when the boy of her affection showed up behind her. “I was wondering if you knew where any books about asteroids are?” The girl had to force herself not to blush as she turned around and pointed in the opposite direction of where she was.

“Y-y-you’ll f-f-find them o-over in 1284. R-right next t-to the b-b-b-books ab-about n-nebula’s.” Tooru gave a large smile, one that would have Yui fall if she wasn’t already crouched on the floor, and patted the girl on the head.

“Thank you Michi-chan.” Tooru took his leave and Yui released the breath she didn’t know she was holding. She could feel her heart race at what seemed like 60 miles from just a smile and simple pat on the head. Sure Tooru was more, touchy feely than her other male friends (she wasn’t sure if Tooru even considered her a friend), but she wouldn’t mind if he wasn’t the person she had a giant crush on. If he continued to act like this, Yui wasn’t sure if she would live to become a teacher. Yui looked at the three books on the floor and decided to check them out and leave in case Tooru wanted to talk to her again. It’s best to save yourself from embarrassment now by leaving then making a fool of yourself later.

The library was always a nice place for Yui to relax when stress came raining down on her, so it wasn’t a surprise when the Librarian’s assistant gave her a small wave as she drew closer to the checkout counter. The boy at the counter top smiled as she approached.

“Nice to see you again Matsukawa-san.” The jet-black haired boy picked up the scanner as Yui placed the books down and spread them out, making it easier for the red light of the scanner to read the bar codes.

“Nice to see you to Michimiya-chan. I saw Oikawa walk in, he didn’t give you too much trouble, right?” Yui shook her head as the first book was scanned. A light blush appeared on her cheeks, her heart rate getting a bit faster at remembering their not even two minute interaction. Issei noticed this and raised an eyebrow. As a middle blocker, he could always pick up on small things about someone. He’s also spent too much time around Tooru to recognize when a girl liked him. The final book was scanned and Issei stacked them on top of each other by now wide they were.

“The books are due in two weeks, but before you go I have to warn you.” Issei’s dark eyes looked into Yui’s light brown ones “Now I’m not normally a serious person, but I would beware of Oikawa; he may look nice but he’s not exactly a good person, and he’ll probably end up hurting you. Take heed around him.”

“I will. Thank you Matsukawa-san.” Yui picked up her books and made her way over to the library doors. As a few upperclassmen walk in, one kind enough to leave the door open for Yui, the brunette couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, she should confess to Tooru.

Mistake number 1.

* * *

 

By the time spring rolled around Yui was ready to accept anything Tooru would throw at her. He could snap her heart in three pieces and she would stand strong.

Okay that’s a lie; her roommate Yukie had to encourage her and prevent her from throwing up.

“Yui-chan are you sure you can do this?” The former manager asked as Yui had her head placed in the currently empty toilet bowl. She had been coughing all day to the point where Yukie has asked her if she was going to throw up several times since nine that morning. Luckily neither of them have classes on Saturdays and Sundays. While Yui had wanted to say that she would be fine, and would meet Tooru at a cafe for something related to their paper in Literature and confess to him, ready to start a relationship or get rejected and watch _The Fault in Our Stars_ on repeat til three in the morning.

Instead, she coughed up three flower petals into the toilet bowl. Yui picked one of them out of the toilet bowl and held them in her hand.

The petals where a stark white, with rich dark pink lines around the edges. They were kinda wavy and felt velvety on her fingertips. Two of these petals looked the same, while the other one had the opposite color scheme. They were the petals of a Striped Carnation.

“Y-Yukie-chan. Get my phone and call Ushijima-san, the password is 0121.” Yukie on the other side of the bathroom door raised her eyebrow at the sudden request.

“Can you at least tell me why I’m calling him?”

“Just tell him it’s an emergency! I’m coughing up flower petals!” Yukie ran into her roommate’s room and looked around for the mint phone case and it’s white bow. After hearing Yui cough what Yukie presumes to be more flower petals, the reddish brown haired girl looked under the bed’s pillows to see the phone on its charger. Unlocking the screen, she saw a few missed texts from Yui’s friend’s, Daichi, Mao and Koushi along with a few notifications from various apps like Facebook and Instagram. Placing in the password Yui had told her, she struggled to find the phone app

“ _Damn_ _iPhones_.” Yukie, an Android user, thought as she found the green phone button. Scrolling through the contacts, she found Wakatoshi’s number, appropriately named “Ushiwaka”. Yukie pressed the call button and waited for the Ace to pick up. Yui could still be heard hacking up flower petals from the bathroom.

“Hello?”

“Ushijima-san! This is Shirofuku Yukie, I’m Michimiya’s roommate. She told me to call you and tell you to come over as soon as possible.” Yukie was pacing around Yui’s room at this point, a nervous habit she gained when on the phone.

“Did she say why?”

“She said she’s coughing up flower petals.”

“Flower petals?” Wakatoshi didn’t seem to fully understand why the brunette is coughing flower petals.

“That’s what she told me.” There was a moment of silence before the boy other end made a sound.

“I’ll be over in five minutes.”

* * *

 

By the time Wakatoshi had knocked on the door, Yui stopped coughing. Yukie got up from the couch and opened the door. Wakatoshi was still in the University's Volleyball training clothes and a backpack was over his shoulder, meaning he was in the middle of practicing when Yukie had called him.

“How is she?” Wakatoshi asked as he unlaced his training shoes. Yukie moved aside to allow the guest to walk in after removing his shoes. She looked back at her roommate who was on her phone on the couch.

“She stopped coughing at least. It was like a bouquet in the toilet bowl.” Wakatoshi slipped into the apartment and walked over to Yui. A soft meow came from her phone, probably playing a cat related game. Feeling the looming presence of the olive-haired male, Yui put her phone away. Wakatoshi’s olive eyes held the presence of concern, he was the right person to contact.

“What happened?” Wakatoshi sat down next to Yui on the couch.

“Well, I’ve liked Oikawa for a while now, and I was planning on confessing to him today at a cafe. I’ve had this terrible cough all day so Yukie had told me to sit over the toilet bowl in case if I throw up. Shortly before Yukie-Chan called you, I began coughing up-”

“Flower petals.” Yui nodded. Wakatoshi slung the backpack off his shoulder and unzipped it. Yukie sat down in the chair next to the couch and watched as the male rummaged through his backpack while Yui only looked ahead at the wall. When he found what he was looking for, Wakatoshi brought out a small book. The cover was made of brown leather, the indents of string to hold the book in place made the book seem more ancient than it actually was. The book gave no indication on what it’s contents are, but Yui had a guess. It looked vaguely similar to the one Yui had read back in high school, the mysterious book kept following her it seemed.

Wakatoshi flipped through the book, stopping occasionally to skim over a page to see if he went too far or not. Eventually, he found what he was looking for. Yui almost wanted to read over his shoulder, but she wasn’t sure how the Ace would take to it; he seemed like someone who enjoyed personal space.

“Michimiya-san do you know what the Hanakahi disease is?”  Yui nodded, explaining she had found a book similar to the one Wakatoshi was holding now when she was trying to find books for a Biology project back in highschool. Yukie went into the kitchen, deciding it would be best for the two to talk this out alone.

“You don’t think I could have Hanahaki, do you Ushijima-san?” The male only looked down at his book, not answering the question. He asked after a minute if Yui still had some of the petals she coughed up earlier. She nodded and turned around to the end table and picked up one of the petals she saved. Yui handed it to Wakatoshi. The olive-haired male examined the petal, feeling the soft texture in his calloused hands.

“Do you know what this flower means?” Yui shook her head. “A striped carnation means rejection. This might have been an early sign that Oikawa would reject you today.” The brunette looked away from Wakatoshi, focusing her attention on her lap. She jumped slightly when the male next to her placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing his thumb in a circular motion.

“Thank you Ushijima-san.” They stayed like that for at least five minutes

* * *

 

The next few days Yui had left literature class several times to cough up flowers when Tooru glanced at her. She tried holding the petals in, but she nearly choked several times. Yui had thought over asking to move into an earlier class, but that would cost money she didn’t have. The only thing she could think of was asking her parents for the money for surgery to have the plant removed.

Instead, she decided to talk to Koushi about it.

Sitting at the exact cafe that Yui had planned to confess to Tooru earlier that week, Koushi sipped on a Caffe Latte as Yui explained her situation. Yui’s own Caramel Macchiato sat untouched before her.

“So let me get this straight,” Koushi started, “You have a crush on Seijoh’s biggest heartthrob, and now you’re coughing up flower petals?” Yui nodded.

“Striped carnations more specifically. Ushijima-san told me they mean ‘rejection’.” Koushi put his drink down and rested his forearms on the table. Yui could feel another petal force its way up her throught. Accepting her fate, Yui placed her elbow to her mouth and let out a cough allowing the pink and white petal to fall into the crevasse of her arm.

“I would ask to see the petal but it was just in your mouth.” Koushi joked, trying to lighten the mood. Yui smiled and giggled, at least the attempt was working. Koushi could feel his own face heat up a little. The jingle of the bell on the cafe gained the two’s attention and looked back at the door. They saw the exact person Yui wanted to avoid.

Tooru walked in the cafe and made a beeline for the counter. Halfway to the counter, he saw Koushi out of the corner of his eye and stopped mid stride. Yui could see the setter spin his heel and walk over to them in slow motion. Tooru gave a smile and waved at the two.

“Hello Michi-chan, Mr. Refreshing. It's a pleasant surprise to see you two here.” Yui suddenly found a very large interest in her semi-warm Caramel Macchiato. Using the drink to avoid having to look at Tooru, she took a sip, nervous eyes locked onto the small ahoge on Koushi’s head.

“Hello Oikawa-kun, it’s nice to see you as well.” Tooru tilted his head at Koushi’s sickeningly sweet voice. The brunet looked back between Yui and Koushi, the silver haired boy was looking at Tooru and smiling while Yui was staring at the wall behind her companion with half of her drink gone.

“Did I interrupt your date?” Koushi blushed like mad while Yui nearly dropped her cup. Both gave out a string of ‘no’ trying to explain this wasn’t a date. Tooru only smiled until Yui began coughing. Petal after petal began forming in her esophagus, sending her into a fit of coughs.

“Yui!” Koushi sat up in her chair and rushed to her side, patting her back gently. Instead of standing around, Tooru rushed to Yui’s side and went to pat her back until Koushi slapped his hand away.

“Don’t touch her!” At this time, the three were creating a scene. “It’s your fault she’s coughing up flowers!” It was nearly impossible to make Tooru speechless, but this somehow made him lose his voice all together. Koushi returned to trying to help Yui as she finally allowed the petals stuck in her throat come out. Tooru saw petal after petal fall from her mouth. Tears escaped her eyes and mixed with the flowers on her lap.

“I think you should go.” Tooru didn’t need to be told twice.

* * *

 

After the cafe incident, Koushi drove Yui to the emergency room to see if there was anything the doctors could do. Koushi sat in the emergency room waiting area, his right leg bouncing like crazy. Thoughts swarmed in his head. Would Yui be okay? Would she be able to survive this? Now that Tooru knew that Yui had Hanahaki, would he try to date her out of pity, or in hopes to actually remove the plant? Would he even talk to her anymore after this? If not, would that worsen Yui’s condition? Koushi folded his hands together and placed them under his chin.

Yui’s phone vibrated in her purse. She had left it with Koushi while she was in the emergency room. Koushi unzipped the bag and picked up her phone. Unlocking it, he saw a single message from Wakatoshi.

 

**Ushiwaka:**

_Oikawa told me what happened. Are you alright?_

 

Koushi unlocked the phone with the pin Yui had told him and texted the Ace back.

 

**You:**

_Yui’s in the Emergency room right now she should be fine, this is Sugawara Koushi btw_

 

**Ushiwaka:**

_Do you know when she’ll be allowed to leave?_

**You:**

_No, the doctor haven’t told me anything yet._

 

Idle conversation lasted a little while, mostly on Yui’s condition though. Some talk about Volleyball and when the next training camp would be. The entire time, Yui was the only thing on the setter’s mind.

 

**Ushiwaka:**

_I have to go back to practice now, I’ll let coach know why you’re not here_

**You:**

_Thanks Ushijima-san._

 

The conversation was now over, and Koushi felt kinda bad talking to Wakatoshi with Yui’s phone. Koushi put the phone back in Yui’s bag and rezipped it. He focused his attention on the TV provided in the waiting room, finding no enjoyment on the talk show currently airing.

After what seemed like several hours, a doctor finally called him.

“Michimiya-san should be okay, we removed the flower in her lungs and it’s currently sitting in a pot.” The doctor said as they walked down the seemingly never ending halls. All of this was great news to Koushi. Yui could finally stop suffering.

“When will she be allowed to leave?” The doctor drew to a stop in front of a wooden door, most likely Yui’s room.

“She’ll be dismissed to leave in two weeks. She’ll be moved to a normal room in the east wing in the morning. We’ve already called her roommate and family to informer them of what had happened.” Koushi nodded. The doctor opened the door, allowing Koushi to step inside. When he did, Yui had an oxygen mask on and a needle in her elbow connecting to a blood bag. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady. She looked at peace, as if she wasn’t coughing up deadly flower petals a few hours beforehand. Koushi sat down in a chair next to the bed and watched the girl breathe. This was all surreal to him, never once had he had to visit an emergency room in his life due to a flower.

“I’ll leave you two be.” Koushi didn’t register the doctor leave the room. His entire focus was on the sleeping girl before him. He sighed and put his head in his hand.

“I’m so sorry Michimiya. I’m so sorry.” Tears threatened to fall from Koushi’s eyes, and he welcomed them. The tears fell silently, matching the atmosphere of the room.

The silver haired boy could feel his chest tightened, a sign that he needed to cough. Surprising that a simple action like this had got Yui into the emergency room. Placing his elbow to his face, Koushi let out a few coughs. He didn’t think much of it until he felt something on the back of his tongue. Forcing the object up his tongue, Koushi spit out what he coughed up.

A flower petal.

A yellow tulip flower petal.

“I should have known.” Koushi held the petal in his palm, for a few moments, before throwing it away into a trashcan by Yui’s bedside. Koushi was going to suffer a lot for a while, but as long as Yui was okay, he’d be fine.

He would always be fine.


End file.
